Writings: The world according to Satchel

It is estimated that Leroy “Satchel” Paige was born on July 7, 1906. The mere idea that his birthday is an estimate provides perfect evidence to the mystery that was Satchel Paige. In 1965, 60 years after Paige’s supposed birthday, he took the mound for the last time, throwing three shutout innings for the Kansas City Athletics.

Joe DiMaggio called Satchel Paige “the best and fastest pitcher I’ve ever faced”. His pitching was amazing and his showboating was legendary. His career highlights span five decades. Pronounced the greatest pitcher in the history of the Negro Leagues, Paige compiled such feats as 64 consecutive scoreless innings, a stretch of 21 straight wins, and a 31-4 record in 1933. For 22 years, Paige mauled the competition in front of sellout crowds. Sure, he liked the attention, but to him, there was only one goal. That goal would be to pitch in the Major Leagues.

In 1948, Paige’s dream came true. The Cleveland Indians were in need of extra pitching for the pennant race. Legendary Bill Veeck tested Paige’s accuracy before offering him a big league contract. As the story is told, Veeck placed a cigarette on the ground to be used as a home plate. Paige took aim at his virtually nonexistent target. He fired five fastballs, all but one sailing directly over the cigarette. Veeck was indeed pleased, and Paige helped the Indians win the pennant.

In addition to Cleveland, Paige played for St. Louis and Kansas City. When his Major League career was completed, he compiled a modest 28-31 record with a 3.29 ERA. He also served as coach for the Atlanta Braves in 1968. What made Paige so memorable was his longevity in the game. The main reason his age was so difficult to track was his seemingly endless success. He rarely answered questions about his age, and when he did, he replied with something like: “Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

In 1971, Leroy “Satchel” Paige was given the ultimate honor, he was elected to join the very best in baseball history in the Hall of Fame.

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“Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

“I ain’t ever had a job, I just always played baseball.”

“I don’t generally like running. I believe in training by rising gently up and down from the bench.”

“I never rush myself. See, they can’t start the game without me.”

“I use my single windup, my double windup, my triple windup, my hesitation windup, my no windup. I also use my step-n-pitch-it, my submariner, my sidearmer and my bat dodger. Man’s got to do what he’s got to do.”

“If a man can beat you, walk him.”

“It’s funny what a few no-hitters do for a body.”

“My feet ain’t got nothing to do with my nickname, but when folks get it in their heads that a feller’s got big feet, soon the feet start looking big.”

“One time I snuck a ball on with me and when I went to winding up, I threw one of them balls to first and one to second. I was so smooth I picked off both runners and fanned the batter without that ump or the other team even knowing it.”

“The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second class citizen to a second class immortal.”

“There never was a man on earth who pitched as much as me. But the more I pitched, the stronger my arm would get.”

“When a batter swings and I see his knees move, I can tell just what his weaknesses are then I just put the ball where I know he can’t hit it.”

“Ain’t no man can avoid being born average, but there ain’t no man got to be common.”

“I never threw an illegal pitch. The trouble is, once in a while I would toss one that ain’t never been seen by this generation.”

“Just take the ball and throw it where you want to. Throw strikes. Home plate don’t move.”

“They said I was the greatest pitcher they ever saw…I couldn’t understand why they couldn’t give me no justice.”

“Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.”

“Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.”

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?”

“Money and women. They’re two of the strongest things in the world. The things you do for a woman you wouldn’t do for anything else. Same with money.”

“Work like you don’t need the money. Love like you’ve never been hurt. Dance like nobody’s watching.”

“You win a few, you lose a few. Some get rained out. But you got to dress for all of them.”

“My pitching philosophy is simple; you gotta keep the ball off the fat part of the bat.”

“I never had a job. I always played baseball.”

“Mother always told me, if you tell a lie, always rehearse it. If it don’t sound good to you, it won’t sound good to no one else.”

“Don’t eat fried food, it angries up the blood.”


Reposted from http://www.satchelpaige.com/

Writings: Keeping it simple, anyway

 

It’s simple, really.
One of the reasons there are so many books in libraries & bookstore is that there are a LOT of ways to say things.
One of the reasons we have a lot of songs is that there are a LOT of ways to tell stories of the heart.
One of the reasons it’s cool we have different days is that each day is different, in a LOT of ways – love that.

But when it comes down to figuring out what to do next, it’s easy.
Just one formula (if you wanna call it that.)
Just one rule (if you insist on calling it that.)
Just one mission statement (if you need that.)

Share & heal.

Then go read your book & sing your song & watch the sunrise – knowing it’s really that simple.

Thoughts: The day which begins with this, is brighter already

Today is the feast day of St Francis!
Lord, make me a channel of your peace.
That where there is hatred, I may bring love.
That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness,
That where there is discord, I may bring harmony,
That where there is error, I may bring truth,
That where there is doubt, I may bring faith,
That where there is despair, I may bring hope,
That where there are shadows, I may bring light,
That where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted,
To understand than to be understood,
To love than to be loved.
For it is by forgetting self that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven,
And it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.
Amen.
According to Bob Holmes, *this is the version of the St Francis Prayer that Mother Teresa prayed.

Thoughts: Peace….

“Peaceful coexistence on this beautiful planet we share cannot be achieved by warfare. It cannot be achieved by power. And it cannot be achieved by ignoring each others’ suffering. We cannot kill our way to peace, oppress others to create to peace, or close our eyes to achieve peace.

“Peace is the only path to peace. Our humanity is indelibly linked to our treatment of one another.”
― L.R. Knost
Art by Isaac Murdoch

Thoughts: Empty time & your heart

You have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest
And patiently learn to receive the self
You have forsaken for the race of days.

At first your thinking will darken
And sadness take over like listless weather.
The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.

You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.
Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.

Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.

Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.

~ John O’Donohue, “For One Who Is Exhausted, a Blessing.”
[Image: Konsta Punkka]

The flower – keep your eyes wide…

One day the Buddha held up a flower in front of an audience of 1,250 monks and nuns. He did not say anything for quite a long time. The audience was perfectly silent. Everyone seemed to be thinking hard, trying to see the meaning behind the Buddha’s gesture.

Then, suddenly, the Buddha smiled. He smiled because someone in the audience smiled at him and at the flower. The name of that monk was Mahakashyapa. He was the only person who smiled, and the Buddha smiled back and said, “I have a treasure of insight, and I have transmitted it to Mahakashyapa.”

That story has been discussed by many generations of Zen students, and people continue to look for its meaning. To me the meaning is quite simple. When someone holds up a flower and shows it to you, he wants you to see it. If you keep thinking, you miss the flower. The person who was not thinking, who was just himself, was able to encounter the flower in depth, and he smiled.

That is the problem of life. If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything. When a child presents himself to you with his smile, if you are not really there—thinking about the future or the past, or preoccupied with other problems—then the child is not really there for you. The technique of being alive is to go back to yourself in order for the child to appear like a marvelous reality. Then you can see him smile and you can embrace him in your arms.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh